First snowstorm of the year hits New Jersey

New Jersey's first snowstorm of the year started as rain, but turned quickly into snow and fell steadily from the afternoon hours into the evening, leading to whitened lawns, slick roads and numerous car accidents throughout the state, the first of two weak storm systems expected to pass through the area this week.

In a half-hour time period in Sussex County, there were 10 weather-related traffic accidents in the area near the intersection of I-287 and I-80.

Mary Iuvone/For the Star-LedgerJulia Bagby and Sarah Walker, both students at Penn State University, have some fun in the snow as they help raise money in Lambertville for the 4 Diamonds Group, which helps kids with cancer.

"I really can’t tell which ones have injuries right now, because there are so many," said a State Police trooper in the Netcong barracks.

Slushy, slippery conditions prevailed on roadways big and small.

Vehicles slid off exit ramps into guardrails, spun onto highway medians and crashed into each other as snow intensified, State Police said.

Light daytime traffic compounded the conditions because, in the absence of snowplows, more traffic clears snow and slush from the road, State Police said.

In Atlantic City, firefighters working to put out a smoldering trash fire under the pier tonight found their efforts hampered by the cold, wet conditions.

"The temperature has dropped significantly. The rain right now is pretty much ice rain. It's switching over to hail, and it looks like its about to turn to snow," said Fire Chief Dennis Brooks, speaking from the scene shortly before 7 p.m. "It slows things down. You're slipping and falling. It makes things harder."

The heavy, wet snow accumulated primarily on grassy areas and in higher elevations, said Kristin Kline, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Wantage, in Sussex County, received 2.1 inches by late afternoon. Sparta, at a higher elevation, received 3.7 inches. Total snowfall in those areas was expected to reach between three and five inches and between two and four more south, said Kline.

The low-pressure system generating the precipitation was expected to pass through New Jersey by midnight Saturday.

"For Sunday, pretty much the whole state should be looking at mostly sunny skies," Kline said.

But another storm is expecting to pass through the area soon, with a similar mix of rain and snow.

"The next sort of impactful storm system can be expected probably on Wednesday," she said.

Scott Tapp, 41, of Hackettstown, an arborist who spent the day removing dead trees and pruning branches in Branch Brook Park in Newark, worked initially in the rain and then through snow.

"The snow is easier to work in and harder to drive in," he said.

The weather doubled the commuting time for some of the people he worked with.

"It’s the first snow of the year so there is no salt on the roads. This is always the worse one," he said.

A 25-minute drive home from Newton to Dover turned into a two-hour trip yesterday for Scott Miller and his 13-year-old son. They inched south along Route 15, backed up for miles by an accident, before taking a winding, alternate route in the hilly roads around Lake Hopatcong. Branches had fallen in the road and trees were starting to hang over from the wet snow, Miller said.

A van in front of them almost hit a telephone pole, and several smaller sports cars sat stranded in the road.

"The road was at a total standstill," Miller said. "People were sliding all over the place...it was pretty treacherous."
Additional reporting by Julie O'Connor and Carly Rothman. Tomás Dinges may be reached at (973) 392-1544 or tdinges@starledger.com.